


Six Heartbreaks

by delictor



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Heartbreak, I'll add more tags as i go i guess, Idk how to even tag this, M/M, One-Sided Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Slow Burn, catch me reusing the same name from a previous work and a similar plot, might be a little bit of lila salt in one of the chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29598171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delictor/pseuds/delictor
Summary: Five times Marinette broke Damian's heart and the one time he broke hers. (6 chapters planned)
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 25
Kudos: 76





	1. When you said another boy was dreamy

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I finally caved and decided to post this. I'm also working on another fic but that one is Jaime Reyes/Marinette, because, come on? Two bug themed superheroes??? Um sign me up?? 
> 
> Also!!! I did change the timelines a bit! Damian doesn't move in with Bruce in canon until age 10, I did bump it down to age 5 so that Damian spends some of his formative years with the Batfam so that he's able to better acknowledge and process his emotions. Also so that he would be more open and talkative down the line.
> 
> I also have Marinette develop a crush on Adrien earlier in this story than canon. By having one of her fashion idols influence that crush.
> 
> I also have Alya show up/befriend Marinette earlier than canon at age 10 instead of 13.
> 
> This story isn't beta read so I do apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> Also if you're into cosplay you should check out my instagram: taylertailors
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Five times Marinette broke Damian’s heart and one time he broke hers

Marinette was a lot of things; optimistic, happy, loud, energetic, kind, but there was one thing she wasn’t. Self-controlled when her curiosity got the best of her. So, despite being asked to spend the day upstairs, she found herself sitting at the top of the stairs, peeking through the railing. Small hands clasping a bar on either side of her head, she tried to get a good view of the visitors. In her attempt to see better she slipped her head between the bars and was finally able to see around the beam previously blocking her view.

Tom and Sabine were downstairs talking to a man in a suit with his back to Marinette. The door chimed and in walked a boy her age with an elderly man behind him. Even from the top of the stairs Marinette could see the striking emerald green eyes the boy had.

Especially when he snapped his head up and looked directly at her. Marinette squeaked and tried to pull away without any success, her ears catching on the bars and preventing her from slipping back out. In a panic, Marinette let out a scream before slipping her hands around the bars and covering her face in an attempt to “hide” herself when her parents looked up.

“Marinette!” Tom was the first to react, running up the stairs, Sabine letting out a startled gasp before following.

Marinette continued to struggle against the stairs as her parents reached the top.

“Butter! Get some butter!” Tom frantically shouted, arms falling to rest on Marinette’s shoulders to stop her from continuously pulling.

“Does that work?! Marinette, honey, stop pulling, just breathe!” Sabine tried to keep her voice level, but every other word seemed to go up an octave.

“That won’t be necessary.” A third and unfamiliar voice spoke calmly in English. Marinette wanted to turn and see who it was but the beams prevented her from seeing much to her left.

Her parents stepped aside as a new set of hands came to rest on the nape of her neck. “Miss Marinette,” the man began, this time in French, “I just want you to close your eyes and count down from five okay? When you get to one, you’re going to pull your head back.”

Marinette furiously nodded her head in understanding. “Five,” she started, squeezing her eyes shut. “Four, three, two,” taking a deep breathe, she readied herself, “One!” and then pulled back, head slipping past the two bars and falling back against a stranger. “Hello.”

The man chuckled, letting the two bars go and helping Marinette to her feet. “Hello.”

“How did you..?”

“I just pulled the bars ever so slightly apart so you could slip out more easily.” The man explained, Sabine stepping around the man to pull Marinette into a hug.

“Are you okay, honey?” Sabine cooed, holding her tightly.

“Thank you!” Tom exclaimed, shaking the man’s hand before turning to Marinette and Sabine.

“Maman, who is that?” Marinette asked, eyes never leaving the man’s face as he smiled gently down at her.

“I’m Bruce Wayne,” he started, kneeling down on the steps to be level with her. “I’m from Gotham City, my Butler and good friend, Alfred, recommended your parents bakery for a catering service for a charity event I’m hosting here in a few weeks.” He explained, glancing at her parents.

“Is that your son?” she asked, pointing to the boy at the bottom of the steps, said boys’ eyebrows furrowing at the finger pointing.

Bruce glanced down briefly before nodding “Yes, Damian.”

“Is he six like me?”

“I am.” The boy answered before Bruce could.

“How about you show Damian some of your toys while we finish talking with Bruce?” Sabine offered, ruffling her daughter’s hair before standing back up.

“I think it’s a great idea.” Bruce nodded, glancing back to Damian. “Be nice.” He spoke sternly, the boy huffing as he climbed the steps to meet Marinette at the top.

Tom, Sabine and Bruce made their way back down, leaving Marinette alone with Damian at the top of the steps.

“What kind of toys do you like?” Marinette asked, a slight tilt to her head.

“Swords.”

Marinette giggled at the response before realizing that he was being serious. “Why swords?”

“Mother trained me with them.” He answered simply before continuing up the last step and into the Dupain-Cheng’s living room.

“What kind of a mother does that?” Marinette asked, following behind the boy.

“The kind that is a monster.” He answered, with the most proper wording Marinette had ever heard from another kid her age.

That was when she realized he was speaking French. “Do you know English too?”

“Yes. And Arabic.” The boy nodded, exploring the living room, boredom spreading across his face.

“I’ve never heard Arabic before.”

Damian didn’t answer, instead, he paused by the hallway table where above it hung two blades against a wooden board, the casing for them hung below it.

“Whose are those?” he questioned, taking note of the detailing on the case.

“My mom’s,” she answered, stepping up beside him. “Her dad gave them to her a wedding gift.”

She noticed the way his eyebrows rose slightly at the comment. He must’ve _really_ been interested in swords.

“Do you want some tea?”

Damian perked up at the question, turning to look at her before nodding. Marinette grinned from ear to ear and immediately skipped to the kitchen, Damian following behind her. She began to go off about a new tea set her grandmother had sent her a few weeks ago, Damian taking a seat at the table and listening intently. Marinette mentally high fived herself for finding something that interested the boy. She wanted him to enjoy his time with her while their parents did business.

While the tea steeped Marinette ran off to her room and came back with her sketch book, a coloring book, pencils and crayons. Dropping all the items on her table, she turned back to the tea, pouring out two cups and handing one off to Damian.

“I brought some coloring things so we could do something while we drink.” She smiled, tearing out a blank sheet and sliding it over to him.

The two sat in silence while Damian took a pencil and used the coloring book as a clipboard. Marinette eyed the boy curiously, wondering what he could be drawing.

“Is it true that Gotham has a superhero?” she finally asked, the boys eyes flickering up to her briefly before turning back to the sheet in hand.

“Yes.”

“What’s their name?”

“Batman.”

“Is it just him?”

No.”

“What other hero’s are there?”

“Several. Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood.”

“Have you ever met them?”

“Yes.”

Marinette finally paused on the questions, turning her attention to her sketchbook instead. A few minutes of silence passed between the two before she looked up at him and the two made eye contact. Marinette smiled and he huffed, glancing back down.

Nearly half an hour later and three designs later, Alfred came up the stairs, clearing his throat slightly. “Master Damian, your father is ready to go.” Marinette jumped out of her seat, scrambling to the stairs before pausing to wait for Damian to catch up.

Damian folded up the sheet he had been drawing on, stuffing it into his pocket and then followed Marinette down the stairs, Alfred following behind the two.

Tom, Sabine and Bruce stood in the bakery’s doorway, chatting as they approached. Marinette turned to Damian, smile spreading across her face. “It was great meeting you.” She started in French, hands fidgeting in front of her before huffing. “I…hope to see you again…” Marinette started in English, forgetting her final word, she wrapped up in French, “bientôt!” she beamed, proud of herself.

She caught the slight hint of a smile on Damian’s face before she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek in goodbye. The boys cheeks dusted pink ever so slightly and Marinette turned to smile to Bruce and Alfred. “Au revoir!” she smiled, the two men returning the smile and farewell before stepping out, Alfred leading a still silent Damian out of the bakery.

She really did hope to see the boy again. She would have to tell Nino all about him.

~*~*~

“Miss Marinette seemed… nice.” Alfred smiled, glancing into the rearview mirror to look at Damian.

“She was interesting.” He nodded, resting his elbow against the door and staring out at the streets of Paris.

“That’s what Dick used to say about Kori.” Bruce pointed out, pulling his phone out to read through his email before they got back to the hotel.

“Koriand’r _is_ interesting.” Damian snapped back, nose scrunching at the thought of the alien girl.

“That she is.” Bruce hummed in agreement.

The rest of the ride to the hotel was silent, Damian thinking about the girl the entire way. She had been overly energetic and talkative. Something that normally irritated him, even Jon would often get on his nerves. But somehow, the girl did it in a way that… _wasn’t_ so infuriating.

~*~*~

“Father, will we be seeing Miss Dupain-Cheng again?”

Bruce turned to glance at Damian, curiosity written all over the boys face. “Possibly at the gala if her parents bring her.”

Damian didn’t seem satisfied by the response but still nodded.

“I can ask her parents to bring her… so she can experience a gala in case she hasn’t before.” Bruce continued, not missing the excitement in his son’s eyes.

“If you wish.” Damian responded as calmly as he could before turning on his heels and exiting the room.

~*~*~

The night of the gala, Damian spent the first half hour wandering around the dance floor, trying as subtly as he could to find Marinette. His father had told him the Dupain-Chengs had brought her, he had even seen her helping bring in some of the catered desserts.

It took another half hour before Damian finally found her standing by the fountain in a pretty pink dress. A glittery tutu bouncing around her as she moved to the music. Damian felt his heart skip a beat and frowned at the feeling, his mother would’ve called it a sign of weakness.

Finally mustering up the courage, he made his way over to her.

“Hello.” He greeted, the girl pausing to turn towards him.

“Hello!” she smiled back.

“Are you enjoying the gala?”

Marinette nodded enthusiastically. “Are you?”

Damian gave a quick nod before holding a hand out to her, “Would you like to dance?”

“I thought I was.” Marinette teased before taking his hand and pulling him out onto the dance floor. The two spent the better part of an hour dancing around the adults, twirling and jumping around, the two laughing at each other.

“Oh!” Marinette exclaimed at one point, pulling Damian to the side and pointing at another boy from across the room. “That’s Adrien Agreste!” she swooned, gripping Damian’s arm tightly. “He’s so dreamy, his dad is a fashion designer! I want to be just like his dad one day.”

Damian frowned at the words. Had she just called a boy dreamy?

“What do you mean by dreamy?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow in confusion with a giggle. “I just think he’s cute and has pretty eyes and he’s sweet. He’s always with his mom and dad during interviews. I hope I can meet him one day.”

Damian frowned further if possible, what could have possibly been special about this Agreste boy? “What about me?” the words slipped out before Damian could think about them.

“What?” Marinette asked, smile wavering slightly.

“I don’t… I didn’t mean to—”

“You have pretty eyes too. But Adrien is dreamy in a romantic way.” She giggled.

Damian let her continue on about the boy, deciding he didn’t want to question her further. She could obsess over this other boy if she so desired. Damian knew his worth. He knew he could be all that Adrien was and more if he wanted. He knew. And besides, _he_ was the one standing beside Marinette in that moment, not the Agreste boy. But still…

Damian wasn’t exactly sure why her words still hurt. He didn’t know why he cared so much.

He didn’t know why his heart felt heavy with each word she spoke.


	2. When you said I wasn't your best friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so much shorter than I wanted it to be! But, the next one will hopefully be much longer!

Damian and Marinette keep in touch over the years, Damian’s siblings teasing him over the “crush” he has despite his denying it. Marinette remains forever oblivious to their teasing though. Every few months Damian thinks up an excuse for him and one of his brothers (preferably Grayson) to take a trip to Paris.

“I need to do research on the Eiffel tower for my French class.”

“I need to interview five native French speakers for my French class.”

“What’s the best coffee shop in Paris? I need to know for—”

“Let me guess, French class?” Todd would usually cut him off mid stupid excuse.

After five years of being friends, Damian decided Marinette was probably his best friend (against Jon’s disagreements). She knew everything about him, well, almost everything. He still hadn’t told her about mother, the league or the torment he went through the first five years of his life.

Despite the one little detail, she knew everything else about him. His biggest fear, his favorite food, his favorite book, time of day (she insisted he had to pick _something_ ), everything.

Point being, Damian knew he had… a _crush_ on her, though he would never admit it out loud. But he also knew that _she_ had a crush on Adrien Agreste, even after all these years. So, despite that, he was content to at least call himself her best friend.

“Ready?” Grayson called, pulling Damian out of his thoughts.

“Yes.”

The two headed out of the manor and to the car where Alfred was already waiting to take them to the airport. The drive there and the flight felt like ages, despite how often Damian made the exact same trip. Or maybe it felt so long because of how often he made the trip.

Marinette was waiting at the airport like always, sign in hand that read “Richard Grayson and Damian Wayne” on it. It was endearing.

“Your girlfriend is waiting for us again.” Dick grinned, elbowing Damian.

“Shut up.”

“Hi!” Marinette grinned, bounding over to them and throwing her arms around Damian immediately.

“Hello.”

Grayson cooed at the two of them before pulling both into a hug. “You two are the cutest.”

“Richard.” Marinette laughed.

“I told you, you can call me Dick, everyone else does.”

“Because you are one.” Damian growled, shoving his brother off him.

Marinette gasped at his words but still had to stifle a giggle behind her hand.

The three made their way to Le Grand Paris where the duo were staying for the weekend.

“Remember, don’t go too far. Keep your phone on. Call if you’ll be late and Marinette is in charge.” Dick reminded them as they waited for the elevator. Damian scuffed and Marinette grinned as she waved goodbye.

Down in the lobby the two ran into Chloe. “Dupain-Cheng… and Wayne. What are you two doing here?”

“My brother and I are visiting for the weekend, Bourgeois.” Damian answered.

“That doesn’t explain Dupain-Cheng. Since when are you two friends.”

“Since we were six.” Damian deadpanned, “Marinette is my best friend, if you’re about to insult her then I think our conversation is over.”

“You two are _ridiculous!_ ” Chloe snapped, shoving past the two.

“I can’t believe you can just stand up to her like that.” Marinette gaped.

“I can’t believe _you_ can’t just stand up to her like that.”

The two spent the afternoon walking around downtown, Marinette giving him the same tour for the tenth time, not that he was complaining.

“Hey girl!”

The pair stopped as a girl approached them.

“Hey Alya!” Marinette waved. “This is my friend Damian.” She introduced, waving at him. “Damian, this is my best friend Alya.”

Damian held a hand out for her to shake, trying to hide the frown that wanted to form at the words best friend. Wasn’t he her best friend? Why was she calling this stranger her best friend? He had never even heard of Alya before.

Maybe the girl was the same for Marinette as Jon was for him. Like a second-best friend.

“Earth to Damian!” the girl laughed, waving a hand in his face, bringing him back to his senses.

“Apologies.”

“Pfft, you don’t have to be so formal.” The girl cackled, throwing an arm around Marinette. “What are you two up to?”

“Touring.”

“Yeah, I was just showing him around Paris.”

“Have you gone by the park? A little birdy told me that Adrien is doing his first solo shoot there today.” Alya smirked, wiggling her eyebrows at Marinette.

Marinette quickly became a stuttering mess and Damian felt his heart strings tugging. How could just the thought of Agreste turn her into such a mess? And why couldn’t _he_ do that to her?

“What do you say, grumpy pants? Want to come to the park with us?”

“I traveled across the world to hang out with Marinette, of course I’m coming.” Damian scoffed, lacing his arm with Marinette’s and starting to walk with them.

“You… you came just to hang out with me? I thought this was for your French class again?” Marinette questioned.

“You must be crushing hard to travel the world just to hang out with Mari.” Alya laughed.

“I would travel the world if she asked me to.” Damian answered in all seriousness, his cheeks flushing red as he spoke the words.

Marinette went wide eyed herself and looked to the ground. “You would?”

“Yes.”

“What do you need Adrien for then, huh?” Alya continued to tease, Marinette flushing further red.

“I—I’m not even—he doesn’t even know I exist. Adrien and Damian are totally different people anyway—I mean, of course. No two people are the same. But… but why are you even comparing them, I just mean—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself.” Damian cut her off.

“There’s already a crowd of other girls here.” Alya cut both of them off, pointing to the crowd of other pre-teen girls gathered behind the closed gate to the park.

The trio walked up near the group, Marinette dropping her hand away from Damian’s and squealing as she spotted Adrien near the fountain. He felt his heart sink at the sound and the way she bounced.

“You know, I’d recognize that look anywhere.” Alya smirked, crossing her arms as she inched closer to Damian.

“What are you going on about?” Damian asked, side eyeing the girl.

“That puppy love look you’re giving her when she’s not looking.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mhm.” Alya chuckled. “She gives Adrien that same look, I think you like her.”

“I do not.”

“Didn’t you cross the world for her?”

“I did it because she’s my best friend.” Damian countered.

“No, I’m her best friend. And after me is Nino, you place maybe third.”

Damian shot her a look before rolling his eyes.

“She’s totally obsessed with Adrien, you’ll have to get her to look at you, like _really_ look at you if you want a shot.” Alya continued. “It might take years, she’s had a crush on this kid since he first made an appearance with his dad at age like five. She only obsessed with him because of who his dad is.”

Damian rolled his eyes again and watched Marinette continue to jump in excitement. He hated to admit it but the girl had a point. Marinette currently had eyes for Adrien and Adrien only.

“I’ll do it.” Damian stated.

“You’ll win her over?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Alya laughed, Marinette turning to look at the pair, smile splitting across her face.

“I’m so glad you’re getting along with my best friend Damian, I don’t know what I’d do if the two of you didn’t like each other.” Marinette smiled before turning her attention back to the park.

“Good luck.” Alya smiled, stepping forward to get a better view.

Damian felt a pang in his chest. Marinette had called this girl her best friend. He knew everything about her. How much she loved fashion design, how pink was her favorite color, her obsession with Adrien, but those were all things that everyone knew. He also knew that her favorite time of day was sunrise, when the birds began to sing, when the sky went from dark to light because it felt like pure hope painted across the sky.

He knew that her greatest fear was losing her parents.

He knew that her dream was to become a big fashion name.

He knew that when she laughed, she laughed with her whole being. With her eyes, her nose, her hands.

He knew everything about her and she knew everything about him and yet… he wasn’t her best friend and something about it turned his stomach and broke his heart.

He really hated the feelings she stirred in him.


End file.
